I have always loved to research and learning new things. The internet is a curse and a blessing this way, but mostly a blessing. It’s a curse on days when my saboteur would rather engage me in distraction instead of working on purpose to advance my action plans. One visit to Facebook, a news page or a link in an email that informs me that I’m a click away from learning THE secret to my success or my happiness and I can easily find myself swirling in a whirlpool of ways to waste time.
On the other hand, I have located so many incredible resources on the internet. There is no way I can allow my saboteur to keep me from people and information I do need to connect to as I grow my business and continue to learn. It is important to find a way to manage the web of potential distraction. I have three tips to share that help me keep my visits online on purpose and avoid meandering about.
1. Google Reader – When I want to find advice or inspiration, I turn to my Google Reader. It contains a selective list of blogs I have found to be informative, well written and directed to either adding to my knowledge or motivating me. It took a bit of time to assemble a balanced menu but it was well worth it.
2. Inspection of Intention – If I’m browsing just to chill out after a long day, then I allow myself time to cruise around and check out new things randomly. During my work day, however, I closely monitor my intention each time I go to the internet. I know that when I am on it, that means I am not coaching a client, writing my memoir or making business calls. Therefore, I consciously remind myself that my time away from these things needs to be brief and with a purpose related to my business. I am clear about my intention before I sign on and once I have achieved my goal, whether it is finding a contact name, posting my blog or doing other necessary research, I get back to my offline activities.
3. Setting Email Reading Times – This is not new news. It is just a reminder that this works. It takes incredible discipline but I do feel it increases my productivity to keep the bulk of my email reading for three specific time slots. I was doing first thing in the morning, mid-day when people tend to be at lunch and end of day. Then I read recently that by working for the first hour of the day BEFORE checking email and responding, you can increase productivity even more. I’ll be experimenting with that tomorrow as I always love a tip like this.
Check back in tomorrow for “Paying It 4Ward” ~ I will be sharing four links to great blogs or websites I turn to for information or inspiration to help add valuable content to your online reading or Google Reader.
